2007年VOA标准英语-For Muslim Women, Education and Economic Empowe

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
05 March 2007

International Women's Day Thursday highlights women's struggle for equality, justice, peace and development. For many it is a day to celebrate progress. For others, it is a reminder¹ of just how far they still must travel. VOA's Margaret Besheer reports that, positive changes affecting women in the Islamic world are coming slowly, but steadily².

The principle of equality between men and women is deeply rooted in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad was known for his equal treatment of the sexes. All his children were female, and he advocated women's rights. He required that a dowry be paid directly to a bride, rather than to her father or guardian³, and he offered special protection to widows and orphans⁴.

Mishkat al-Moumin, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, says that has interpretation⁵ has changed.

"Later on, when Prophet Muhammad died, and so many other interpretations⁶ came to exist, again, it goes back to controlling society," said Al-Moumin.  "If you want to control society, if you want to control families, then you control women."

 
Muslim women listen to Mexican Amina Teslima al-Yerrahi during a workshop at the Islamic Feminism conference in Barcelona, November 3, 2006
Today, Muslim women are working to break free of restrictions⁷. Al-Moumin says economic and social empowerment are the keys to women's advancement⁸ in the Islamic world.

"You cannot expect a woman to stand up for herself, if she has no income, or if she cannot afford to put food on the table for her children. There are so many widows and divorced women," said Al-Moumin. "They are responsible for a whole family -- sometimes three or four kids. If there is no social or economic program to support them, it will be so difficult for them to survive."

Education is another area where Muslim women lag behind. U.N. statistics show that, in 2005, more than 75 million women in the Middle East and North Africa -- a large part of the Muslim world -- could not read or write.

Wadeer Safi, a professor of law at Kabul University, says illiteracy⁹ is also a serious problem in Afghanistan.

Safi said, "The main problem in front of female students in Afghanistan is the illiteracy, which is prevailing¹⁰ all over the country."

Mishkat al-Moumin says uneducated girls grow up to be unprepared mothers, who often lack strong parenting skills. This leaves them unequipped to deal with modern problems, such as drugs, crime and religious extremism.

"When you make women suffer, you make the whole family suffer. That is why women's rights are important. It is not about women. It is about families," said Al-Moumin.

Women are advancing at different speeds across the Muslim world. In Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, the pace of modern change is coming more slowly, with women still denied the right to vote or drive.

Munira Nahid, a sociologist¹¹ at King Fahd University in Riyadh, "Saudi women, because of the restrictions, and because of this unequal kind of opportunity that they are facing in this society, have become great fighters, and they have become great achievers."

 
Iraqi women deputies chat with each other prior the start of the parliament session in the heavily fortified¹² Green Zone, in Baghdad, Iraq (Dec 2006 File)
Such determination is not limited to Saudi women. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, women are beginning to develop a voice in politics. In Iraq, women are playing an active role in government, while, last June in Kuwait, women voted and ran as candidates in parliamentary and local elections for the first time.

In the Gulf¹³ nation of Bahrain, the king appointed the first female judge last year. She joins the ranks of other women judges in Jordan, Lebanon, Iran and several other Muslim nations.

A handful of Muslim women, including Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, have been leaders of their countries. But a long road still stretches ahead.

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

4 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

5 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

6 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

9 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

10 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

11 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

12 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

13 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。